Just One Night
by FictionAficionada
Summary: She doesn't know why she did it, whether it was the string of terrible dates, the drought she'd been experiencing for months now, or something deeply buried in her subconscious but she found herself marching through the glass doors without second thought as though this had been her intention all along...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Suits and all characters are owned by Aaron Korsch and USA network.

* * *

She stared out the window of the little French bistro as he droned on and on about tax deductions, which in reality was a notch better than his previous topic: the importance of balancing your checkbook every day.

_Worst. Date. Ever, s_he thought to herself.

She glanced back at her date and smiled politely. He was gorgeous; tall, dark hair, deep green eyes, and a great body to boot. He had that brooding look as though he was the hero of a modern-day Bronte story. But what he had in looks, he completely lacked in personality. He suffered from TPD—total personality deficiency, as she liked to call it and as gorgeous as he was, there was no way she was making it out of this restaurant with him. If his company was any indication of what sex with him would be like, she was better off going home alone.

Donna had been on a series of one bad date after another. There was Oliver (the momma's boy), Jonathan (the sexist pig), and now Paul (the ultimate bore) to complete the trifecta. She had been on a dry spell since Stephen and these "dates" were only adding insult to injury. Things in her love life were as dry as the central Sahara. She almost considered sticking through the night with Paul when he gave her an offer she just couldn't accept.

"So I was thinking, after dinner, if you'd like we could go back to your place and I can take a look at your books?"

And no, there were no innuendos attached to 'books', she was absolutely certain. She wasn't sure if she had ever been stunned into silence before but it was definitely a phenomenon she was experiencing now. Her brain processed dozens of thoughts all at the same time but only one was able to form into a coherent statement as she smiled tightly and said, "Would you excuse me for a sec? I just need to run to the ladies room, I'll be right back!"

"Oh ok, yeah sure," he replied absent-mindedly as he read prices off the menu and commented on the astronomical margins to no one but himself.

Donna rolled her eyes and stormed off to her sanctuary, the bar, where she had taken refuge every time she needed to excuse herself to go to the bathroom.

"Another shot?" the bartender asked with a knowing smile as she pulled her phone from her purse.

"Ugh! STAT! George, my friend, you are a saint among men right now!" she replied as he set down a shot glass in front of her. She had been on this miserable date for 2 hours now and she needed some way to keep it interesting. She had opened a tab about 30 minutes into the date and told George, her latest and greatest BFF at the moment, to keep the shots coming every time she passed by. And like a good bartender, he delivered every time.

She looked down at her phone and considered. She didn't want to text him but she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She was sure she'd hit the mark if she had to spend another 15 minutes in Snoozeville with good-old Paul. Scrolling through her contacts, she stopped at the letter H and opened up a new message and hesitated.

* * *

When he had heard earlier that afternoon from Rachel that Donna had a date, he went about in his usual prying mode until he'd been given the information he wanted. Once he found out that her date was with an accountant, he had fallen onto the couch in his office in a fit of laughter.

"_Do you know how terrible of a match that this is going to be for you!? Who would set you up with an accountant anyway?"_ he asked her through labored breath.

She had wanted to slap that smug grin off his face but refrained and offered instead a quick retort of her own to set him in his place, which obviously had no effect on him when he in turn replied with:

"_Whatever you say, Donna. Just remember the code if you want out. Actually, I meant to say WHEN you want out."_

* * *

She did not want to use the code. She wanted to prove him wrong with every fiber of her being but every fiber of her being wanted to get away from Paul even more. So she succumbed to the lesser of two evils, or so she thought. She typed quickly, albeit begrudgingly:

[YOU WIN.]

His response followed shortly after:

[GAME. SET. MATCH. Point Specter – H]

Shaking her head with a heavy sigh, she easily downed the shot glass that George had set on the bar top before her.

"Ass," she muttered under her breath before typing back a response.

[JUST DO YOUR DAMN PART. 10 MINUTES.]

Shoving her phone back into her purse, she closed out her tab at the bar and made her way back to her date.

"Hey!" he said as she sat down in front of him.

"Hi, sorry that took a little bit longer than usual," she replied with a tight smile.

"What have you got going there?" she asked as she watched him scribbling on a drink napkin, though she should have known better than to ever have asked.

"I was just doing some quick math while you were gone," he began excitedly; "You won't believe how much you can save toward retirement if you start cutting back on some of your shopping. For example, if you purchase less of those fancy Jimmy Shoes you said you've got on there…"

"Jimmy CHOOs," she correctly him sharply.

"Yeah, those. And take out all those Marine bags, to maybe one bag every two or three years…" he continued animatedly.

"MARNI!" she nearly yelled at him. _How dare this bastard blasphemy the holy name of Marni!_ she thought.

"…Well if you made reductions starting there, your savings would increase greatly, especially if you throw that money into a high-yielding CD…"

"ARE YOU SHITTING ME!?" she blurted, unable to restrain herself, drawing attention of some nearby tables.

"I…umm…what?" he asked, genuinely confused as to why she was so upset.

Just then her phone rang; she looked down at the screen that read HARVEY.

"Saved by the bell!" she snapped back at Paul, picking up her phone and answering, "What!?"

"That bad, huh?" came the voice on the other end, she could nearly hear the smirk through the phone.

"Ohh you have no idea!" she responded fervently, "but your call came about 10 seconds too late."

"You said 10 minutes!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, there was a change of circumstances," she said picking up her purse and giving Paul an icy glare as she turned to walk away.

"Hey…wait up!" she heard Paul call after her and she turned around once more to see what he had to say.

"Aren't you going to pay your half of the bill?" he asked.

"Harvey, I'll get back to you" she said frostily as she disconnected the call and walked back to the table.

She stopped at the table and brought herself at face level with Paul and whispered menacingly.

"I'm sorry, maybe you didn't hear but apparently I've spent all my savings on Jimmy Choos and Marni bags. I'm sure you've got more than enough to pay for dinner with everything you've saved up in your high-yielding CD, which you can shove up your ass by the way!"

And with that she turned around and left.

She was still fuming as she walked out of the restaurant and decided the she'd take a walk to burn it off. She was a long way from home but she figured she could always hail a cab whenever she decided she had calmed down and sobered up enough. However, as fate would have it, as she turned a corner a few blocks away from the restaurant she found herself face-to-face with his building. She doesn't know why she did it, whether it was the string of terrible dates, the drought she'd been experiencing for months now, or something deeply buried in her subconscious but she found herself marching through the glass doors without second thought as though this had been her intention all along. The doorman recognized her immediately and let her right on through. She knew he wouldn't be "entertaining" anyone otherwise his response to her text would not have come so quickly.

Donna didn't come to his apartment often. In fact, she only ever came to pick up a spare suit for him if he was running low at the office. But she had made it a point to not allow herself here unless it was absolutely necessary. How necessary was her visit now? Well that would depend on who you asked she supposed.

Arriving at his door, she hesitated for a fraction of a second before knocking. She had a key but this wasn't the time to use it, just in case he did happen to have the latest bimbo of the month in there. She considered turning around and leaving but she had enough alcohol in her system now to keep her from using her best judgment. After what seemed to be an eternity but was more likely only 30 seconds, she heard the door unlock and Donna soon found herself face-to-face with him.

"Donna?" he greeted, his tone slightly surprised but his features indicated he was rather amused to see her standing there.

She stared him down for a moment, leaning against the door, glass of scotch in his hands, barefoot with a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans on.

"Busy?" she asked, her tone indicating the real question: do you have any guests?

He responded by pulling the door open a bit wider so that she could pass through.

"Need a dr—?" he began asking but before he could finish his question she had already snatched his tumbler of whiskey from his hand and was drinking it easily.

"—drink," she heard him finish as he shut the door and followed her down the hall towards his kitchen.

She was already plowing through his fridge by the time he caught up with her, he stood on the other side of the door.

"So, when are you and Mr. Spreadsheet getting married?" he asked.

She heard the smile that came with the question before she even poked her head around the door to glare at him.

"Hmm…that bad? I guess it must have been for you to have called me," he gloated.

"There's the understatement of the year," she muttered as she continued searching through the fridge, "That little shit wanted to go back to my place so he could assess if I was properly saving enough for retirement! Apparently I have too many Marni bags and shoes!"

"I told you that date was headed for disaster," he chirped.

Spotting the item she was looking for, Donna downed the remaining whiskey and felt the burn work its way down her throat.

"Yeah, well I didn't come over here for an I-told-you-so. Now I'm only going to say this once," she responded, grabbing the item from the fridge and shutting the door.

She noticed him straighten a little as he spotted the can in her hand.

"What's that for?" he asked, indicating the can.

"You know what it's for," she replied, her eyes locked on his.

He stared her down for a brief moment, presumably checking how serious she was. She watched as he scratched the back of his head in thought. She could see that for a split second she had thrown him off his game. He expected her to walk through his door that night as much as she expected to be the future mother of "Mr. Spreadsheet's" children. So she took a step closer, challenging him.

"We do this…" he said slowly, pointing between the two of them, "…and it can't be undone."

"It's just one night, Harvey," she replied with another step, their bodies merely inches away from one another.

"Donna, you're drunk," he said, trying to reason with her.

"Only just enough. But since when has that ever been a problem for you?" she countered.

"Since we're talking about you," he responded honestly.

His response caught her off guard. There was something so tender in his words that it made her take a step back.

"Fine," she said, finding composure as she set the can of whipped cream down on his kitchen counter, and turned away from him and back towards the door, leaving him standing in the kitchen. She felt slightly ridiculous now but she was sure she could drink this away tonight and he'd be a gentleman enough to not bring it up again. She was about to slip out of the door when she felt his weight slam it shut as he turned her around, pinning her body against the door.

He brought his lips to hers and she responded eagerly, desperate to satiate the hunger that had been building up inside her over the past months. She tugged at his shirt and pulled him closer, his hands squeezing her waist as he deepened the kiss further. He seemed as voracious as she was until he pulled away suddenly, taking a step back.

"Not like this," he said so softly, she almost didn't hear him.

"What?" she asked breathlessly, confused by what that meant.

He locked eyes with her and his stare made her feel slightly self-conscious, as though he was looking beyond the surface.

He took a step towards her again, slowly, this time taking her face in his hands. She closed her eyes and felt him kiss her every so softly. It was stripped down but no less powerful. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was slow and steady, and she could hear her heart beating and was sure he could too. It was as though time slowed down and she was able to take it all in. This was different, she thought, much different from nearly a decade ago. She gasped as he suddenly hoisted her up, her legs wrapping around him as he carried her back into his loft. His kisses remained steady as he worked them around her jaw and down her neck. She could feel the chills rising up her spine. Something told her to get out. Something told her she shouldn't have come. But she couldn't walk away, not now. His lips on her were like a drug that she couldn't refuse.

And so she decided to let it happen…it was just one night after all.

* * *

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Suits and all characters are owned by Aaron Korsh and USA network.

This is the first time I take on a chapter with this kind of content, so I hope you all enjoy.

Rated: M for this chapter only.

* * *

He carried her back through his loft and into his bedroom. Somewhere along the way she lost her shoes… and half her mind if she really thought about it. Once in his room, instead of throwing her down onto his bed like she half-expected, he set her down gently on the floor, taking half a step back to look at her. The way he looked at her aggravated her. She didn't want this Harvey. This Harvey was being too considerate. Where was the Harvey that would just throw her down on the bed and have his way with her and then be done with it? Isn't that what he did? He stepped forward again, his fingers combing through her locks as he kissed her again. No, that Harvey was not here. This Harvey was making it hard for her to believe that little voice in her head saying "_It's just one night._" She had only slept with the man once in her life before, a decade ago at that, but she knew him enough to know that this was not the way one-night stands were supposed to go. They were supposed to be raw with lust. They should be sexual and messy and nothing more. But with each soft touch and with each tender kiss she was finding it increasingly difficult to separate her emotions from the actions. No matter how hard she fought to change the tone he seemed to fight back just as hard just to keep it. She bit down hard on his lips only to have him return it with a breathtaking kiss. She tugged roughly at his shirt to which he simply smiled easily as his lips found their way to her ears, his breath warm against her as he whispered, "Don't worry, we'll get to that. For now, just relax."

With that he took a step behind her and pulled her back into him so that their bodies were now flush with one another. Brushing her hair away from her left shoulder, he slowly, painstakingly planted kisses from her neck down to her shoulders, his fingers gently leading the way for the kisses that trailed quickly behind. Donna's breath caught as his hands moved to work the zipper of the cream-colored silk dress that she wore. As if trying to ready and memorize every curve of her body, Harvey traced his fingers from her shoulders and down her back, uncovering her bare skin inch by inch as he worked the garment off of her. His hands eventually settled at her waist as he turned her around to face him.

She watched him pause and observe her, his eyes wandering from hers down to the black and nude lace bra and undies that covered parts she was longing for him to explore once again. Suddenly, she noticed him smirk and shake his head ever so slightly.

"What?" she asked, her voice sounding hoarse and unlike her own.

"Nothing," he replied looking up at her again, "I'm just thinking…Mr. Spreadsheet's loss, my gain."

Donna felt herself blush and was thankful the room was dark enough to where he couldn't see. He gave her an easy gentle smile that had an oddly calming effect on her before pulling her into him again, this time his hands digging into her auburn tresses as he kissed her, his tongue urging her mouth to part, to which she gladly obliged. Their tongues met, sending an electric pulse through her body.

He began working his kisses down her neckline and down her shoulders once again, sliding the straps of her bra off her shoulders. His hands now traced along the edge of her bra sending a new wave of shivers along her spine. Donna slid her hand under his shirt, drawing light patterns across his bare and toned chest. As he sat down on the edge of the bed, she took advantage of the moment to pull his shirt off over his head. His hands dug into her waist as he pulled her close placing a soft kiss just above her belly button. She moved down to straddle his lap as he moved his mouth to explore where his hand had been moments before along the edge of her bra. His tongue was warm but firm against her, inducing an involuntary moan from her lips. He teased and tickled and tortured and she was sure she'd die of delirium before he was through with her. She pulled her body closer into his and relished the feel of his warm bare skin against her own. But as she felt his hands toy at the hem of her panty line, she felt a new surge of heat course through her. Feeling his own excitement growing against her, she pulled his face to her, kissing him frantically to which he graciously indulged. Shoving her hands through his hair, his ever so perfectly coiffed hair, was a different pleasure all on its own. Harvey responded in his own manner, releasing the clasp of her bra, allowing the flimsy lace to slip off as he explored each breast thoroughly with his tongue, taking Donna yet another step closer to the edge.

Attempting to gain some control over the situation, Donna tried to push him back onto the bed but his thought were quicker and his body much stronger for in the blink of an eye she found herself pinned to the bed instead as he hovered above her. Their eyes caught one another and through labored breath they both shared a quick laugh at their predicament.

"Been practicing?" she teased, as her hand worked its way little by little down his chest, stopping to toy with the waistline of his jeans.

"Actually," he said whispering in her ear as she deftly unbuttoned his pants, "This is all just part of the Paulsen Package."

"Oh?" she grinned breathlessly, pushing his jeans and briefs down his legs, "And what exactly is the Paulsen Package?"

"Well, it's a little of this…," he said leaning down to plant a long slow kiss on her lips.

"…Followed by a little of that...," he continued as his lips and tongue worked their way down her navel, stopping just above her panty line.

His hands now moved slowly up her legs and over her thighs.

"And we can't forget some of this," he added as he moved his tongue to dance around the hem of her undies, driving her to arch her back at the contract before he disappeared between her legs.

She knew he was good but she had forgotten just how good. She found herself torn between giggles and moans as he explored the world below.

"Har…Harvey!" she called out nearly squealing which only served to make him work harder, her body writhing and trembling as his ever-so-skilled tongue did all the work. He transitioned back and forth between slow and tender motions to sudden frenzied paces as she lost all control. She grasped at the soft Egyptian cotton sheets as she felt a downpour coursing it way through her body. She knew what was coming any second now and she held her breath. In the end he won as she peaked and let loose an all too gratifying sound.

Though she had not moved, she felt as though she had just come off a roller coaster, her head spinning and body limp. She saw his head pop up from between her legs as he rested his chin just below her bellybutton, a wide grin on his face. She looked down at him and laughed as she simultaneously gasped for air, throwing her head back on the pillow that she nearly suffocated into to try and keep from screaming.

"God!" she said as she tried to catch her breath, hoping her heart rate would soon start to drop.

"Actually, the name is Harvey," he teased with a chuckle, "but I guess you can call me god."

She rolled her eyes but laughed along anyway. She felt his lips working their way up her nave, stopping one more time at each breast. Her body, still tingling from only moments ago, convulsed at his touch and was enough to elicit a reaction from her. He continued moving all the way up until he was at face level with her once again.

"Hey," he said with a smile, looking down at her as he hovered above, his fully exposed body settling on hers.

"Hi," she responded back, her hand gently stroked his back as she felt him move against her.

She lifted her head off the pillow to bring her lips to his. Her hands found their way to his chest as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He clung to her as he moved inside, thrusting his hips forward as she accompanied his every move. As her body began shaking once more beneath him, he pinned her hands above her head with his own and devoured her: mind, body, and soul. When she finally managed to turn the tables and pin him down, she straddled him as he pushed his hips up and she thrust down onto him. He called out to her just as she had for him.

When both had given everything they could, at about 3 rounds in, she collapsed onto his heaving chest, her lungs begging for oxygen. She settled into the crook of his arm with one leg strewn across him, her hand absently tracing circles against his stomach.

_Best. "Yoga". Ever. _she thought with a sigh as she drifted off to sleep, missing the kiss that he gently planted on her forehead before following her into slumber.

* * *

To Be Continued…


	3. Chapter 3

A bright flash followed by a loud boom that rattled the windows stirred her from sleep. Another flash lit up the room and she subconsciously counted the seconds until she heard the imminent boom. 15 seconds. Even under a sleep-induced haze she could still do the math that her father had taught her as a child, something about estimating the distance at which lightning struck. About 3 miles away, her brain determined. For a brief moment she was confused and unsure of her surroundings, though they seemed so familiar, she couldn't quite place where she was. The next bolt of lightning that lit up the room, however, seemed to send a jolting current through her body as the realization dawned on her as heavily as the arm that currently weighed down her midsection. The throbbing headache that forced her to keep her eyes shut served as an additional reminder and admonishment of her actions. She cringed inwardly at the thought of what she had done.

"Oh my god" she mouthed mutely as a new reality emerged; she was still entirely naked. She made a miserable attempt to wrap the bed sheet around herself only to come to the conclusion there was no way to do so without yanking the covers off of him. Not that she'd mind the sight but sobriety after a night of earth-shattering sex with your boss/friend/what-the-hell-were-they brought on a whole new kind of self-awareness. Giving up on using the blanket as a shield, she instead tried to ease her way out of bed without waking him. In light of their current predicament, she felt it would be best if she managed to make her exit before he awoke. As she tried removing herself from his grasp, however, his hold on her waist tightened. She muttered a curse under her breath and remained still for a moment longer, making sure he was still asleep. When his breathing was deep and steady, she made her move again.

"I can hear your brain running a mile a minute, you know?" he said from behind her, his voice unlawfully hoarse from sleep, "I know what you are doing and you can stop."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she tried responding as coolly as she could manage, "I'm just trying to… I just need to…"

_Smooth, Donna_. _So much for keeping cool_, she thought to herself as she stuttered.

"You just need to stop thinking and overanalyzing whatever just happened and go back to sleep for a little longer," he said, his breath warmed her shoulder.

Easy for him to say, she thought. Of course, the man with a revolving door of women would find it easy to not overanalyze what had happened.

"Harvey, I just need to get home," she said, sighing in frustration.

"Even if that were true, which it isn't, you can't go anywhere. You are stuck here for next few hours," he said unflappably as he settled back into his pillow, his arm still draped around her.

She turned around to face him. He was sprawled face down on the bed. The sheets were pulled down to his waist, his bare torso moved up and down with each breath. His hair was in a state of disarray from last night, her doing she thought with a smile. He looked back at her through sleepy eyes.

"What do you mean I'm stuck here?" she asked as panic rose up in her chest.

"This isn't a just some regular thunderstorm. It's some freak tropical depression. It's supposed to last for a few hours. City's public transportation has been suspended this morning until the flood warnings subside."

"It's just rain…a little water won't hurt anyway. I can take a cab," she countered.

"They aren't running right now."

"This is New York! You can always get a cab!"

"Not when New York starts getting freak weather that belongs somewhere like Florida. A foot of rain and people start thinking it's the coming of the times."

"How do you even know this anyway!?" she asked with mild annoyance.

"Because," he replied through a yawn. "I woke up about an hour ago to this storm and got up to shut the curtains. Turned on the news for a few minutes to see what it was all about."

"So…you already got up today? And you came back to bed?" she asked skeptically. This was new for him, she thought. He wasn't one to come back to bed unless there was the promise of more sex in it and there was definitely no way she was making the same mistake 3 times. By this point, he'd usually have taken off, even if he couldn't get out of the apartment.

"Yes and Yes."

"But I didn't even hear you?"

"That's because you sleep like the dead," he said, "Not that I blame you, not after that performance last night," he added with a wicked grin.

Donna felt the heat rise to her face. Why was this so much harder for her than it seemed to be for him? She wanted to avoid the subject and yet here he was able to tease her about with such ease only a handful of hours later.

"So" he said as he pulled her closer to him, "since you can't go anywhere. Just relax and get some sleep with me."

With that he leaned over and kissed her. It was long and slow and very sober. And it was just enough to make something thump in her chest. Donna knew she was treading dangerous waters now. She no longer had the haze of alcohol to protect her from her actions. Then again, neither did he. Still his kiss sparked a fire within her that allowed her to reciprocate the kiss, her hands pressed gently against his chest. As he pulled away, he smiled sleepily at her.

"See? Now I bet that's better than whatever you claim you had to get back home to," he teased as she nestled back into her pillow.

_Yes, _she thought, _unfortunately it is, and unfortunately this is also not real_. So for just a few more hours she'd let it be. She'd still have to deal with the aftermath of emotions from the night before so what harm could a few more hours do. She drifted off to sleep again with these thoughts coursing through her mind.

* * *

Donna awoke 2 hours later to an empty bed. She felt the first wave hit her—disappointment—and she knew there were still plenty of rough seas to sail through still. She had told herself it wasn't real and that she had to take it for what it was; a one night stand. Turning to the clock on the nightstand she noticed a bottle of water, two ibuprofens, and a pint of chunky monkey sitting on ice in an ice bucket.

She pulled the post-it note that was attached to the bottled and read:

_Hangovers: one more reason why God made Chunky Monkey – H._

The gesture brought a smile to her face. It evaporated as quickly as it came, as she tried not to get too sentimental about the gesture. She gladly took the water and aspirin in desperate need of some hydration. Picking up the pint of Chunky Monkey and the spoon he had left for it beside the ice bucket, she scooped out a couple of spoons of ice cream.

Fighting off a bout of brain freeze due to rapid consumption of ice cream, she made her way over to the windows and peeked through the curtains a the New York Skyline. It was nearly 10:30 in the morning but the sky was as dark as twilight. The rain pelted hard against the windows. Visibility was low, her vision obstructed by the gusts of wind that splattered sheets of rain against the building, but she could make out windswept debris on the streets, a couple of downed traffic signals, and an occasional tree that toppled beneath the gale force winds. A large lightning bolt lit up the sky and she quickly moved away from the window.

She knew that with this weather Harvey couldn't be far. Gathering that he was probably working in his office, she decided to take advantage of his absence and treat herself to a nice long bath, seeing as she was going to be here for the foreseeable future after all.

In the privacy of the bathroom, she was finally able to reflect on the events of the previous night. Even in the shower, away from his gaze, she felt herself blush as she remembered his touch and how he explored every inch of her body. She was embarrassed that she could be so embarrassed at the thought. She was a grown woman for heaven's sake! A part of her wished she had been drunk enough to forget it all but the night replayed in her mind all too vividly. She could still taste the whiskey from his lips and the scent of his cologne, musk and pine, lingered on her skin. Another part, a deeply buried part, relished the fact that even after all these years she could still give him a run for his money.

Just because this time things had felt different, it didn't mean things were different, she told herself. It had been ten years since she and Harvey had first slept together and it had been great back then too. It was only logical that they both matured with age. The way he treated her last night had nothing to do with her. He probably had a "Scottie Package" and a "Model XYZ Package" that he bestowed upon every partner of his. Actually, it was probably all the same damn package, she thought bitterly as she slammed the bar down on its dish with more force than she had intended.

"Damn it, Donna! Get your shit together!" she chided herself.

She was starting to wig out and she had no right to. She was the one who had shown up at this door last night pissed drunk. She should have known better. And because she didn't, she was the one who had to clean up her mess and deal with the consequences and push the emotions out of it. It was sex. It was great sex but it was sex. Nothing more. Nothing Less.

Feeling resolute, she shut off the water and hopped out of the shower, wrapping herself in an oversized robe that she noticed that Harvey had set out for her. After drying her hair, she padded out of the room and into the kitchen, pouring herself a much needed cup of coffee. One sip of the Colombian dark roast and she felt much more adequately prepared to take on the problems of the world.

Trekking over to his office, she stopped at the doorway and watched him, absorbed in his paperwork. He had thrown on a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans, and Donna thought it was highly unjust he had to put no effort whatsoever into looking that good. He sat on a small loveseat, his case files spread over the apothecary coffee table. The only sound came from the wash of rain against the windows and one of his father's master tapes that played softly in the background.

Donna wasn't sure what would come next. Would they go about like it never happened? Would he want to talk about it in the passive way he considered appropriate for any conversation that could get emotional? She could already hear him saying, "Look Donna, just because we slept together doesn't mean…" and then jump into business mode. She wasn't sure if she could handle any of this right now. She wasn't sure she could be around all-business Harvey without getting a chance to work through her feelings and she was afraid to keep pretending longer with the Harvey that left her Chunky Monkey and post it notes on the bedside table. What frustrated Donna the most though was that she was the one who showed up at his door. She had been adamant that she wasn't in love with him. And a bad date with too much alcohol may have given her the courage to knock on his door last night but deep down she knew that wasn't the reason she picked him. She had kept the feelings at bay for years, had worked to preserve their work relationship for far too long to let a bad date bring the entire house of cards down. She could have gone to a bar and gone home with a good-looking stranger but instead she chose to change the dynamic of their entire relationship that she fought tooth and nail to preserve. Why?

She knew why, it was the same reason that she woke up with that wave of disappointment when she thought he had taken off this morning. It's the same reason she had secretly hoped his time with Scottie would come to an end. She was in love with him, all of him. But they were everything they'd ever be and she needed to come to terms with that. Ten years of hoping he'd come around should have been enough to knock some sense into her.

A frustrated sigh unintentionally escaped her lips, prompting him to look up from his paperwork.

"Hi" she said quietly, a slight tremble in her voice. She berated herself mentally for it. She didn't want to seem weak, not in front of him. It was Un-Donna like to be weak.

"Hey," he said with a soft smile.

There was a brief pause and she held her breath, waiting for what came next.

* * *

To Be Continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Some questions to be answered:

To Tila13: In the last chapter: Yes, I meant a home office, not his office at Pearson-Specter :)

To CDNA: I think you'll still get some of that conflict before this story wraps up ;)

Finally: I've been trying to think of a new story to develop. So if anyone has a story idea they'd like to see explored that hasn't been done yet, let me know in a review and maybe that will be what I come up with next!

* * *

(HARVEY)

Harvey read the first paragraph in his case file for the 30th time that morning and still had no idea what it said. His thoughts drifted to Donna and last night. A smile sneaked across his face as he remembered waking up to the waves of red splayed across his pillows. But she was in flight mode right now and he knew it, which was why he knew he needed to give her some privacy and space when she woke up again.

Somehow Harvey found that he was in fight mode instead. Somewhere between stopping her from leaving last night and waking up to her in his bed this morning, he had decided he wasn't going to run from what had happened. He knew Donna would try and justify it with some ridiculous excuse. That they did it because he was drunk; he wasn't. That they did it because she was drunk; she might have been but she still picked his door to show up to. He didn't want to give her the chance to sweep it all under the rug again. He wasn't sure where this newfound courage came from, to want to take this head on, but he wasn't as afraid as he should be. It wasn't because he thought he was invincible—he knew he wasn't. And it certainly wasn't because he thought she couldn't hurt him—she could easily destroy him. He wasn't afraid because somehow, in his gut, he knew this was right.

Harvey had held Donna at arm's length for far too long. Now that she had finally opened the door just a crack and let herself come within his reach, he had no intention of letting her go that easily. He'd be damned if he had to wait another 10 years to have her the way he did last night.

As terrible as he was at relationships with other women, he knew Donna better than she thought. She was sitting in the room trying to substantiate what had happened between them last night, and was trying to write off their actions with some lame excuse in the name of preserving the dynamic they already had, but as far as he was concerned, that all went to hell in a hand basket when she showed up at his door last night.

The only thing Harvey feared at this point was regression. He had moved one step closer to a perfect state with Donna and he knew he didn't want to go back. They couldn't go back. He had told her this last night. And Donna, for all her preaching and campaigning for Harvey to let his walls down, when it came to her feelings, she had the Great Wall of China built around her heart.

Feelings. He tried to come to terms with having them but he didn't know how to talk about them. Not eloquently at least. He wasn't sure what she felt but he knew there had to be an inkling of something there. After all, she wouldn't have jeopardized their dynamic over just a good night of sex, not after all the rules she had set in place for the past decade.

These were the thoughts that plagued him. This was reason that he had started reading paragraph 1 for the 31st time that morning, when he heard a quiet sigh come from the direction of the hall. He looked up to see her standing at the doorway, wrapped in his bath robe, a coffee mug in her hand. He couldn't help but notice that she fit in so well with his life.

"Hi," she said quietly.

He noticed the nervousness in her voice and right then he knew that he couldn't bombard her with talk about what happened. She wasn't ready to talk. But he couldn't go straight into work mode because that was the last thing on his mind. If he were truly honest it would be a dick move, getting so intimate with her last night only to go back to business as usual the next day. He wasn't ready for that.

He'd have to take a different approach. He would have to let some of his own walls down first. She had to feel like there wasn't a cold wet blanket hanging over them. The only way he knew to do that was to bring them to neutral ground where they both always felt at ease. It was like their late night meal breaks at the office, when they would just talk to one another about everything and nothing in particular at the same time.

During those talks, she always managed to get him to do a lot of talking. She was great at listening but not exactly the best at sharing. It was during those talks where she learned about his mom's infidelity and his love for movies and jazz. But every now and then he'd get to see a sliver of the real Donna, the one with the flaws and scars, the one that didn't have to be awesome 100% of the time, which made her all the more awesome to him anyway. It was during one these late night work meals where he had learned that she had left acting because her father had hit some financial struggles and couldn't afford to send her to the school she dreamed of.

So when he saw the weary look in her eyes, standing in his doorway, he replied with an easy smile.

"Hey,"

She seemed at a loss for words, so he quickly added,

"Nice of you to join the rest of the waking world, Sleeping Beauty. I thought I'd have to go out and reel in Prince Charming to wake you up."

She rolled her eyes, smirking at him.

"Been trying to reel that sucker in for years, what makes you think you would do any better at finding him?" she asked.

"Well, A.) Because I'm the best damn closer this town has ever seen," he answered with a grin, "and B.) I wouldn't need to go far to find him, we both know that I'd be more than adequate to get the job done."

She laughed, shaking her head as she turned back to the kitchen.

"I don't think your loft is big enough for the three of us. You, me, and your ego can't all fit in this space. It's a good thing you don't keep your balls here too!" she called out behind her.

He laughed, smiling at her, "Ah that hurts, and here I was thinking the three of us fit in here just fine."

Thirty minutes later he came out of his office, finally finishing up some notes for Mike on the Carmichael case file, a new client Mike had reeled in. Donna wasn't in the kitchen or the living room. He decided to check back in his room.

* * *

(DONNA)

Donna didn't have much in the way of clothes to put on but at least wearing her underwear beneath the robe would make her feel less exposed around Harvey. His comments this morning weren't helping her resolve either. She had managed to retrieve her bra from a sitting chair that was in the corner of the room but could not, for the life of her, find her panties.

"Where the hell are you?" she whispered to herself as she shook out the bed sheets looking for the flimsy lace garment.

"Looking for this?" she heard his voice a few feet behind her.

She cringed, pressing her lips together before turning around to face him. Sure enough, in his hand was the La Perla lace. Pushing away the embarrassment that threatened to flood her face, she walked up to him, quickly snatching the fabric from his hand.

"Why do you even have these?" she asked with annoyance when she noticed the impish glint in his eyes.

"They flew off the sheets when you shook them. Duh," he answered with a smirk.

Donna stood her ground and stared him down, squinting at him. He held her gaze in return.

"Stop it," she warned sternly.

"Stop what? I'm not doing anything," he said with feigned innocence, the smirk promising to break into a full grin.

"I know you're trying to picture me naked, stop it!"

He laughed now, "Oh come on now, Donna. After last night, I hardly have to try. I mean, can you really blame a man?"

She glared at him, firing darts with her eyes, even though her heart pounded heavily in her chest at his words.

"Look, Harvey," she began with a sigh, "last night, was a—I umm—"

"No! Now you stop, Donna," he said slightly aggravated, "whatever you are going to say, just don't, ok?"

She was slightly taken aback by the harshness of his tone and he noticed.

"Just not now, ok?" he said softer this time, "Here, come with me."

She nodded, not sure what he meant by that but followed him into his closet. She noticed him open the bottom drawer of a dresser and pulled out two articles of clothing. She noticed they weren't his; rather they belonged to a woman. At first, she thought maybe they had been left behind by Scottie.

"What's this?" she asked as he handed it to her.

"Some clothes, they're yours," he answered, noticing her skepticism.

"Mine?" she said looking down at them now, and sure enough it was a pair of light gray yoga pants and a striped white-and-coral V-neck that she had long forgotten about, "Why do you have my clothes?"

"You forgot them here, I think" he answered at the confused look on her face.

"You kept it?" she asked rhetorically, somewhat bewildered.

"I believe it may have been from one of the many adventures of Harriet Specter and Michelle Ross painting the town red on my credit card," he added with a smile.

"Oh My God! Yes!" she exclaimed, as realization finally dawned on her, "We got so hammered that night. You let us stay here because you were out of town. I still don't think Rachel knows where we ended up that night. She was still hung over when I had Ray drop us off at—wait a second—did you say Harriet Specter and Michelle Ross?"

He nodded, his smile morphing into a full grin.

"You know about that!? No one knows about Harriet and Michelle!" she said, her embarrassment bringing her voice to an exasperated whisper, even though there was no one in the apartment but them.

"I may not be the Omniscient Donna, but I've got my finger on the pulse too," he said, leaning down to whisper closer to her ear.

She narrowed her eyes at him and demanded, "How?"

"Buddy of mine," he answered with a chuckle, "said he met a smoking hot redhead at a bar. He said her name was Harriet Specter. When he heard the last name, he called me to make sure it wasn't my wife before making a move on her. That's a good man, there."

Donna felt like crawling into the nearest hole and hiding but Harvey wasn't done rehashing the story yet.

"Anyway, I may or may not have thrown around the term common law marriage. I also may have told him Harriet Specter was off limits to everyone at the bar so he said he'd go for her friend, Michelle Ross. And I may have told him she was off-limits too," he added, rubbing the back of his neck, a nervous gesture.

"Wait a minute! Is that the reason we didn't meet anyone that night? You had your friend guarding us like a pitbull?"

"Like I said, good man," he said with a self-satisfied smile.

"Oh My God! You are un-frickin-believable!" she said shaking her head and punching him lightly in the shoulder as she moved past him and out of the closet.

Making her way into the bathroom, she began to change when she heard Harvey's phone ring on the other side of the door.

"Jessica," she heard him answer, his voice fading down the hall as he moved back to his office.

Donna looked at her reflection in the mirror. With her own clothes on, she felt infinitely better but she knew that eventually they'd have to give up the charade and address the situation. Dancing around this until they forgot about it was not going to be an option that either could live with. She came out of the room and could still hear Harvey's voice from his office. She listened for a second before hearing him laugh. If he was laughing, then Jessica wasn't calling about a major crisis.

Plopping down onto the couch, she turned on the TV and flipped though the channels absently. She stopped when she saw that "Annie Hall" was on. _Perfect_, she thought to herself. She loved that movie and if there was ever anyone who could make you feel less neurotic about matters of the heart and of life in general, it was Alvy Singer.

"That sex was the most fun I've ever had without laughing" his voice came from behind the couch.

Donna froze and paused the movie, turning around on the couch to look up at him.

"What?" she asked, visibly stunned at what he had just said.

"Alvy Singer?" he says like it is obvious, pointing to Woody Allen on the TV.

"Ah," she says, her heart racing a mile a minute, as she realizes the scene he was quoting.

"Annie Hall, solid choice," he comments casually, but Donna notices a spark of mischief in his eyes. Of all the things he chose to quote in this movie, he had to pick that one line.

"You can quote Annie Hall?" she asked in surprise, though she wasn't sure why, he knew tons of movies.

"If I can quote Clueless, I can quote Annie Hall," he said giving her a pointed look.

"Yes, but you also claimed Clueless was one of the most underrated films of this generation," she responded, still working at reaching a level of composure befitting her.

"And it is," he said, moving into the kitchen and pulling out a bowl from the cabinet and placing a bag of popcorn in the microwave, "But Annie Hall is one of the greatest films of all time."

She smiled watching him out of the corner of her eye. There was something about seeing this side to Harvey that felt like a key unlocking her heart. That was precisely why she should never have allowed herself to get into bed with him in the first place. He would just end up breaking her.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath so only she could hear. Her heart had returned to its normal rate but she was slowly realizing that there was no clean cut from what she had done.

The smell of fresh popcorn wafted through the air, distracting her from her thoughts as it made her stomach growl. She hadn't put much more than alcohol in it over the past 12 hours, she thought as her own conscience chastised her for it. She wasn't 21 anymore; alcohol definitely took a different toll on the body at her age. She watched as Harvey poured a box of Milk Duds over the popcorn, her favorite way to eat popcorn. She wondered if he knew or if he just liked it that way too. He snatched a throw blanket from a basket by the fire place and handed it to her. He turned down the lights and set the fireplace on to a low glow before settling beside her on the couch, offering the bowl of popcorn to her.

"Ah, you're a man after my own heart, Specter," she said, but the words tightened in her throat as they seemed to carry more weight than it would in their usual banter. She found that if she tried to keep to their typical dialogue, it was easier to deal with the awkwardness of having to spend the day with him after drunkenly throwing herself at him. However, she was finding that a lot of what she said now took on more meaning in light of the crossed boundaries.

Without another word, she picked up the remote and resumed the movie. She stole a discrete glance at him, noticing he looked entirely relaxed; his feet propped up on the coffee table, his arm stretched across the back of the couch, and the faintest hint of a smile tugged at the corners of eyes and lips. She turned back to the TV and fixed her eyes on Alvy Singer and Annie Hall meeting for the first time, silently picking away at her popcorn and milk duds.

At various points throughout the film, Donna wondered what the hell she was thinking when she has picked Annie Hall to watch today. Why hadn't she just gone with Clueless, it would have been a much safer choice.

_(TV: _

_Alvy Singer: Love is too weak a word for what I feel—I luurve you, you know, I loave you, I luff you, two f's, yes I have to invent, of course I- I do, don't you think I do?)_

Donna swallowed a lump in her throat. She could feel his eyes on her now. Slowly, she turned to meet his gaze. He gave her a soft smile that made her want to melt into his arms, so she offered a tight smile back and took off muttering something about the bathroom.

Her hands shook as she turned the faucet on in the bathroom sink. She rinsed her face off with the cold water, her nerves easing up a little. She needed to get out. She needed to go home and deal with this away from Harvey. She came out from the bathroom and pulled open the curtains and noticed that the rain had simmered to a soft drizzle and that people are cars were lazily making their way down the streets. Taking this as a sign from the heavens above, she grabbed her dress off the dresser and picked her shoes up off the floor and darted back to the bathroom. She quickly zipped up her dress and slipped on her shoes. Bolting out of the bathroom at the speed of light, she had no time to stop herself from colliding into Harvey, who had come looking for her.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a crease of his brows, looking her up and down as he held her by the arms, "Where are you going?"

"The rain stopped," she said pointing out the window, "I'm going home."

"Donna," he said sighing softly, tilting his head and forcing her to meet his gaze, "You don't have to leave. Stay. Come watch the rest of the movie."

"No, Harvey," she said firmly, pulling herself out of his grasp, "I need to go home."

She noticed him frown slightly, a defeated look in his eyes.

"Ok," he conceded, "but at least let me drive you."

"No!," she said a little too quickly, earning raised eyebrows from him.

"No," she repeated, softer this time, "it's not that far of a walk. Besides I could use the fresh air."

"What are you talking about!? It's at least a 45 minute walk. Donna, if this is about last night…?"

She threw him a pointed look that said it was all about last night.

"Donna, I'm not asking you to leave," he said gently.

"But I want to leave!" she practically shouted at him.

He was stunned and took a step back from her. She could see that her words stung him but she couldn't sit around pretending that last night had just been good sex and nothing more. She couldn't joke about it with him as if they were friends with benefits who did this all the time, they weren't. She just couldn't sit next to him all afternoon and act like her heart didn't tighten in her chest every time he looked at her. She couldn't do it and that was why she needed to go.

"Donna," he called out as she turned for the door.

"I'm sorry, Harvey. I have to go. I'll see you on Monday," she said with a shake of her head as she hurried out the door before the tears that burned beneath her eyelids broke free.

To Be Continued…


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you all for your all your reviews. To those who tell me that a chapter made you laugh or cry or even blush—I think it's awesome that my simple writing can inspire those emotions so thank you for the motivation to keep on writing.

* * *

As the elevator doors closed behind her, Donna released a shaky breath and pushed the "L" button repeatedly, as though it would get here anywhere quicker.

"Oh my God. Oh my God," she whispered repeatedly like a mantra. She threw her head back to rest against the wall, closing her eyes.

Moments later, the elevator doors slid open at the lobby and she hurried to make her way out through the revolving door. Before she could make it out, she heard the gentleman at the front desk, who reminded her an awful lot of her father, call out her name.

"Ms. Paulsen?" he said, his voice gentle and kind.

She tried to give his as warm a smile as she could muster.

"Yes, Mr. Callaghan?"

"Mr. Specter, he called down and asked me to give you this," he said handing her a large black umbrella, "He said if you won't accept a ride, at least accept the umbrella."

She took it and thanked him. He gave her a warm smile and went back behind his desk.

Donna was barely able to get a 20-foot clearance of the building when she heard another all too familiar voice that stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Donna?" Rachel's voice called from behind.

Donna cursed under her breath and turned to see not only Rachel but Mike as well. She flinched inwardly but kept her composure as best as she could.

"Hey!" Rachel said stepping up giving her friend a hug.

"Mike and I just needed to get out of the house after being cooped up all day! Were you—wait a minute—is that the dress you wore last night? Girl, have you been doing "yoga" all morning? You're glowing," she whispered with a coy smile, the words not lost on Mike.

Donna struggled for an answer, swallowing the lump in her throat. Her eyes met Mike's, a knowing look in his eyes as he glanced up at his boss' building.

"Oh! I'm totally not judging because I love it, and you do it with such class, but Donna I recognize a walk of shame after a night of hot sex when I see one! And getting cooped together up because of this storm on top of it!"

Now she really wanted to dig herself into a hole and die. Rachel really had no clue. She had only been to Harvey's place once before and as she mentioned to Harvey earlier, she had been drunk as a skunk the entire time she was there. She was definitely too hungover to remember anything about that night aside from telling random men about Michelle Ross' eidetic memory.

"So? Who's the guy? You sent me a message last night telling me the accountant was a total drag."

Donna tried to smile but it came out like a pained grimace instead. The headache she had fought off all morning returning in full force.

"Rach," Mike said stepping in, "Why don't we let Donna get home? She looks like she could use some rest. You can assault her with questions on Monday morning maybe?"

"Oh! Right, of course!" Rachel replied in her typical bubbly nature as she hugged her friend once more.

Donna took the opportunity to mouth a 'Thank You' to Mike who simply nodded sympathetically.

"See you at the office on Monday?" Mike asked her, but it seemed more like he was checking to see how much of a problem she and Harvey had on their hands.

Nodding silently, she gave Mike a small smile. He looked slightly relieved but not entirely convinced. Donna took her leave of the couple, opting for the next available cab in sight lest she run into one more person.

* * *

(Mike)

Mike watched Donna's retreating form and gave one last wary look up at Harvey's building. He was half tempted to go up and find out what was going on, but he knew that if Donna hadn't even been able to school her features from him, then it was way too soon to approach Harvey. Donna may be at work on Monday morning but that didn't mean things were okay. She was ever the professional and work was work, no matter what happened on the outside.

When he and Rachel made it back to their apartment, Mike couldn't fight the urge to do something, to fix whatever had gone wrong between his mentor and his friend.

"Hey, Rach," he called out, plopping down on the couch in their loft.

"Yeah?" she called back from the bedroom where she was changing.

"I think that maybe tomorrow you should go talk to Donna," he said.

"Oh! That would be great. I am dying to know who the hot stranger was that she spent all night and all day with!"

Mike scrunched up his nose at the thought, not wanting to think of the details of what Harvey and Donna did or did not do together. He got up and walked over to the bedroom door, leaning against the frame as Rachel rambled on. She stopped when she noticed the serious look on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked with a small smile and a tilt of the head.

"I just think she could use a friend to talk to," he said pointedly.

Rachel frowned, furrowing her brows.

"You're scaring me, Mike. What's going on? Is everything okay with Donna?"

Mike sighed. "Yes. No. I don't know. All I know is that when we ran into her today, she looked flustered and…"

He paused, unsure whether to continue. Donna would make him pay for this but he didn't care.

"And what, Mike?" Rachel urged, worried about her friend.

"And that was Harvey's apartment she was leaving from."

"Harvey's? Wait,What?" she asked confused before her eyes suddenly widened as she put the puzzle pieces together.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Mike! Do you think that they slept together?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"I don't know," he said, throwing his hands up, "You're the one that said she was "glowing!""

"Oh, she definitely had the hints of the "yoga" afterglow," Rachel said more somberly now.

"Yeah, well whatever happened doesn't look like it ended too well."

"Mike, if it happened, this is huge," she said with some worry.

"Yeah, no kidding!"

"I mean, it's one thing when it happened 10 years ago but—"

"10 years ago? What are you talking about?" Mike asked interrupting her.

"You don't know?" she asked, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Know what?" he asked.

"Harvey and Donna slept together like a decade ago. I figured Harvey might have mentioned it to you at some point. Donna only told me recently."

"No. When it comes to talking about Donna, it's off-limits with Harvey. What happened?"

Rachel sighed sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"It happened when they both left the DA's office. She had a rule about not getting involved with people she worked with. Well, when they left the DA's office, they weren't working together anymore and all bets were off."

"But they work together now," he countered.

"Well, about a week after it happened, Harvey called Donna and asked her to come work for him at Pearson-Hardman."

"Harvey Specter. Ever the romantic," Mike said shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

"Yeah. Well Donna agreed to go back and work for him on the condition that they never speak of the incident ever again."

"So it meant something more to her if she never wanted to speak of it again?" he surmised.

Rachel nodded slightly, "I think so. I mean, she said she would have liked to at least have tried at a relationship with him but that he wasn't ready at the time."

"Why do these two keep sabotaging themselves!?" Mike groaned in frustration just hearing the story.

"I think she's in love with him," Rachel admitted, "I think she's always been but has pushed it away as an impossibility. And to be honest, Harvey may not understand and trust his own feelings but I think he is just as in love, if not more so, with her. He adores her, you know it. Everyone knows it. They are the ones who can't see it."

Mike nodded silently.

"It's tragically sweet actually," Rachel continued, "they care for each other so much but neither one trusts their own heart enough to try, afraid that the other will decimate it and there would be no going back."

"'You can't go back'— that definitely sounds like Donna," Mike commented, "If she believed that, do you think she and Harvey ever went back to whatever they were even after the first time?"

"No," she said with a wistful smile, "I think they got close to making it back and eventually just pretended that they had. But deep down, I don't think they believe they did. But even if they did, there is too much history there between them now for them to be able to do it again."

With a sigh, Mike pulled Rachel up and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Knowing all I know about them now…it makes me glad that we did things our own way," he said gently.

Rachel smiled up at him, "Yeah, I think we've done quite all right for ourselves."

* * *

(Donna)

Donna was exhausted and drained, but even through it all she could not get a wink of sleep that night. She shed some tears, mostly out of anger at herself for being foolish, but also because now that it had been done, she knew the feelings couldn't be undone. She couldn't even indulge in a pint of Chunky Monkey now because the man had gone and stamped his name to it when he left it on the bedside table for her that morning. Her bed, that she always loved for being so spacious, now felt cold and empty. She was tired of spending nights alone. She was over coming home to an empty apartment and ordering takeout for one.

Other men had come and gone in her throughout her life but being with Harvey returned a longing in her heart that she had long ago abandoned. It had been easier ten years ago to walk away. It wasn't because she cared less for him, there was just less at stake and their dynamic was still developing, not to mention she was younger. She still had hope back then. Hope that he wouldn't be the only man to make her feel fulfilled. Back then she felt she had all the time in the world to find Mr. Right. But now, over a decade later, her expectations were higher. She knew who she was and what she wanted and with each year it became harder and harder to find the right man.

There had been some that came close, but at the end of the day they all had to compete against Harvey Specter for her time, attention, and affection. She realized that until she could cut him out of the picture, no one would ever truly stand a chance. At some point, she had even tried dating guys like Harvey, hoping their attitude would trigger the same feelings. They didn't. There's only one Harvey.

When it came to the physical, sure there were some contenders. Sex with Stephen Huntley had been mindblowing, she thought with a cringe. But with Harvey, it was complete, because it wasn't just about the sex. It was about the connection they shared from spending over a decade together building his career. She knew he considered her a good friend but that was all that was there for him. His feelings only went as deep as appreciation, not love. And though she was happy that he valued and appreciated her presence in his life, gratitude wasn't what she was looking for.

So when she finally dragged herself out of bed on Sunday morning to find puffy eyes and a disheveled mop on her head staring back from the mirror, she did the one thing she knew she shouldn't. She picked up the business card that she had carelessly thrown in the jar on her dresser at some point over the past 2 months.

She picked up her phone, hesitating for a brief moment before typing the message:

[_Hey Stranger.._.s_o, how about that dinner you owe me? Tommorrow night_?]

She set her phone down, immediately feeling a self-conscious wave of guilt. She was old enough to know better, to know that rebounds never got her anywhere promising. In fact, she had 20-plus dating years of anecdotal proof that was the case but it still didn't stop her from sending the text message.

Her phone buzzed sometime later:

[_Sounds great…Pick you up at 8? Your place?]_

[_8 it is… and yes, my place. See you then_] she replied.

She sighed, setting her phone down again. She knew she shouldn't have but she needed the distraction. Tomorrow she'd had to face Harvey at work and at that would be rough enough. At least this way, she'd be drinking heavily with company rather than alone. Besides, he was tall and reasonable handsome, there was no reason she couldn't try to enjoy herself a little. He could be somewhat of an ass but he knew how to separate business from pleasure. And if he said yes to dinner, despite her tied to Harvey and Mike, then maybe he wasn't half as bad as she thought. She needed to rid herself of this Harvey Specter tunnel vision and this was one way to go about it.

It was nearly 4 in the afternoon when she heard a knock on her door. She hadn't been expecting anyone today. Sunday visitors were a rarity. Not entirely sure of who she'd find on the other side, she held her breath as she opened the door.

"Rachel?" she said, he voice deflating at the sight of her friend.

She felt guilty then as she realized that a part of her had been hoping it would be Harvey coming after her. Even after all these years, she still hoped that he'd show up at her doorstep telling her he wanted more. But he hadn't even been able to talk to her about what happened the other night. Yet she had hoped in the depths of her heart that he'd come after her yesterday. He asked her to stay but she didn't know why and when he didn't try to stop her, she knew she had her answer. Harvey fought for what he cared most about. And he'd fight for her, as his assistant and secretary, but that was all.

So instead of Harvey at her door with a declaration, there was Rachel with two bottles of wine, a box of cronuts from her favorite bakery and a warm smile. Donna bit down on her lower lip as her eyes welled up. The look on Rachel's face told Donna that she knew.

"Mike?" she asked, knowing he had ratted her out.

"Only because he was really worried about you," Rachel answered, nodding sheepishly.

Donna stepped aside, silently nodding as she ushered the brunette in.

* * *

To Be Continued..


End file.
